The present invention relates in general to an apparatus and method for the display of graphical user interface (GUI) pointers, such as mouse pointers, in GUI systems operating in conjunction with color or monochrome-scale display systems.
A great number of computer systems use graphical user interfaces (GUIs) to interact with their users. These interfaces are input/output (I/O) systems characterized by the use of graphics to communicate on the computer screen to the computer user. Frequently, the user may use a pointing device, such as a mouse or track ball, as an input device to manipulate and relocate a pointer on the computer screen. By activating or xe2x80x9cclickingxe2x80x9d the pointing device while the pointer is at a designated position on the screen, a user inputs information into a computer system. Accordingly, a user need not memorize commands or have a knowledge of keyboard typing to provide input to the computer system.
Examples of commercially-available GUI systems include Windows, Cose Desktop, and OS/2. These operating systems may be found on a variety of machines, such as IBM, desktop and portable machines and their compatibles, Solaris computers, MacIntosh computers, and Power PC desktop and laptop machines. In fact, most modern computer users obtain access to their computers through such GUI systems.
Color display systems may be comprised of a color display screen and an interface card to connect the color display screen to the remainder of a computer system. Most GUI systems use color display systems to communicate, or output, to their users. Often, the colors that are displayed on the display screen are selectable by the user and/or definable by a computer programmer. A programmer or user may define one or more colors for the background of the display screen and/or the information displayed thereon, often called the foreground of the display screen. The pointers used in these color systems may also be colored using one or more colors. Like the background and foreground colors on the screen, the pointer color can be defined either by the programmer or by a user to provide for any aesthetic and functional effect desired.
The use of GUI systems in conjunction with color display systems has resulted in a customizable and programmable system that gives rise to several problems. First, it is possible to customize a pointer to be displayed in the same or similar color as a color used in the background or foreground. In such a situation, the pointer may become difficult to see when it is displayed in the same area on the display screen as the corresponding background or foreground color. In fact, in some cases, the pointer may disappear from view altogether. Likewise, in certain monochromatic-scaled display systems, such as gray-scale display systems, the shades used to mimic colors may be so similar as to obscure the pointer from view.
The combination of these systems also presents a concern for the visually challenged. Persons with poor eyesight or who are color blind may have an especially difficult time distinguishing the pointer from the background or foreground colors displayed on the screen. The instant invention addresses the visibility problems inherent in these color and monochrome-scale GUI systems.
The instant invention is an apparatus and method for display of a pointer under a GUI system. The instant invention analyzes the background and foreground colors over which the pointer is to appear in order to ensure that the pointer color or colors are always contrasting to the background or foreground colors over which the pointer resides. By continually evaluating the color of the existing screen at the location the pointer is to appear and computing a contrasting color on a point-by-point basis, the invention ensures that the pointer will constantly be highly visible to the user.
The foregoing outlines broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention.